{Review} Broken by A.E. Rought

Title: Broken
Author: A.E. Rought
Format: NetGalley e-book ARC
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release date: January 8, 2013
Date Read: September 7, 2012 - September 12, 2012
Rating: ✭✭✭

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

So after some pretty hilarious business while reading BROKEN, I have finally finished... and color me slightly impressed.

BROKEN is a creepy, well-done, intriguing retelling of Frankenstein.

I confess I'm a sucker for retellings. Retellings change the way you see stories - I mean, who knew that the monster's bride was pretty awesome, or that Sleeping Beauty was a heroine addict? 

Emma Gentry is a high-school girl who has just lost her boyfriend, Daniel, one of many victims to die or disappear mysteriously in a small town in Michigan. Emma and Daniel's relationship was real love, which made his death so much harder for her.

During the school year, Alex Franks enrolls, and like in most stories, he and Emma are "drawn to each other".

*headdesk*

I'm really starting to wonder why young-adult novels authors insist on adding insta-love. Gah. That definitely took away from the story.

Anyway, Alex Franks is really, really familiar. He has Daniel's eyes, his habits and knowledge. Alex's dad, Dr. Franks, is a freaking creep and he hates Emma, since she's a distraction to Alex. Drama, action, and horror follows.

You guys can all guess who the monster in BROKEN is going to be. It's not even a spoiler - it screams "ALEX ALEX DANIEL DANIEL" in the blurb. The story would've had a lot more potential if it was more surprising.

There was serious insta-love in BROKEN, and that annoyed me, but I'm not going to dwell on it. 

I thought that Emma and Alex were kind of 'adorable' together, as Britney Spears would say. Apparently that's her favorite word on the X-Factor. 

I was a uneasy with their declarations of "you're mine" and "you belong to me", however.

I usually don't go gaga for any books with insta-love, but I suppose BROKEN was an exception, since it had a reason. It just made me feel like this, which is a definite sign I'm going mad:


I'm just exaggerating

I thought the characters and the character development was okay. I genuinely liked Emma - she seemed like a interesting protagonist and I was fond of her voice. She didn't give two shits what other people thought of her, and she didn't let it get to her. Most of the time. And she punches people, which I adored. 

I also loved Alex. He's like a lost, sensitive puppy that needs a hug. He's a sweet, protective little German Shepherd. I sound like a creep. Moving on. Alex hates himself, and he's a tortured soul. I'm not just spitting out bullshit. It's the truth.

I originally liked Josh - the game he played with Emma was funny and I loved it. And then, little by little, my patience for him waned... and waned... and waned... until I got to the last straw, and, oh, look what I found!

 
HAHAHA, FUCK YOU.

BROKEN itself gave me semi-nightmares. It didn't horrify me while I was reading it, but when I went to bed, I did dream about someone cutting out my heart. The animals scared the living crap out of me - the deer, mostly - and Dr. Franks made the story.

I do wish there was a lot more horror to counterbalance the romance, however.

Strangely, one of the scenes in BROKEN reminded me of when the victims of THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE are tied to the beds ready for surgery, which is probably not the best comparison. That movie scarred me for life, and I have my friends to blame for forcing me to watch it at the party they threw for me.


I bet you're squirming, aren't you? Me too.

BROKEN is a guilty pleasure for me because there are things wrong with it: insta-love that made me roll my eyes at times, choices that annoyed me at times, and tiny details that should've driven me insane but didn't.

But I didn't hate it.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.